HANDLING LIFE'S DIFFICULTIES

 

Job 12:4-5a  Yet my friends laugh at me.  I am a man who calls on God and receives an answer.  I am a just and blameless man, yet they laugh at me.  People who are at ease mock those in trouble.

It is easy to do; in fact, most people do it.  We are quick to find fault with one another and slow to understand one another.  There is a tendency to blame one another for our difficulties instead of supporting each other as we go through them.

Not all troubles are caused by wrong living.  Troubles are a natural by-product of living in a fallen world.  Many times we face troubles that have nothing to do whatsoever with the condition of our hearts.  Bad things do happen to good people; it’s just a part of living.

The issue is not why troubles come; it’s how we handle our troubles that matter.  We can internalize our troubles, feel sorry for ourselves, and blame God for them.  Or, we can turn to God and seek His help through them.  Sometimes God will alter circumstances to get us out of trouble and sometimes He will send others alongside of us to help us.  If we trust God, He will show us the way to handle our problems and a way out of them.

I like Job’s confidence in his relationship with God.  He was accustomed to God answering his prayers.  Why?  He was a just and blameless man.  He lived so close to God that there was no doubt whatsoever in his mind that his troubles had nothing to do with how he lived.  Oh, but that we would have such confidence before God!  Oh, but that we could say that when we pray God answers our prayers!  Oh, but that we could say that we live just and blameless lives!

What needs to change in order for you to make such claims about your relationship with the Lord?  It is God’s desire that all of us live blameless lives before Him.  In order for that to happen, we must be willing to let Him change us in any way He chooses.  We must seek to please Him in every area of our lives.  We must always strive to do what is right before Him.

Others may not understand us; they may even mock us.  But living just and blameless lives before God is our highest calling and greatest need in life.  It is the way of the cross and no one will make it to heaven unless they walk it.